Gary Brumburgh - Stairway to Heaven
Self-Produced, 2025
As an artist, Gary Brumburgh has proven afraid of nothing. On his debut recording Up Jumped Spring (Self-Produced, 2007), the singer took on a vocal treatment of John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.” while bringing the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” into the jazz lexicon. On Moonlight (Café Pacific Records, 2018), Brumburgh gives a masters’ class on a mashup of Miles Davis’ “Dig” and the old standard “Sweet Georgia Brown.” He takes a hard left into classic show tunes on Full Circle (Café Pacific Records, 2022) as he returns to his stage roots.
Hard on the heels of Jonathan Karrant’s near-gospel take on Elton John’s “Your Song” is Brumburgh’s provocative cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” from the band’s Untitled Album (Atlantic, 1971). Taking on such a musical monolith. let alone transforming it from a Celtic opium dream into a stylish post-modern tone poem featuring flautist Michael Borton and pianist Stephen Oberhoff (who arranges the song). Brumburgh largely re-harmonizes the piece, transforming it into an anti-jazz and anti-rock anthem full of mystery and anticipation. Brumburgh resisted and avoided every way this project could have gone wrong. He treats this classic rock cornerstone gracefully, creatively and carefully while having his way with it.
The performers touched and transformed every nook and cranny of this performance, rendering it new. Brumburgh shows a fearlessness that pays off with a truly effective reimagining.
Discography
Up Jumped Spring (Self-Produced, 2007)
Moonlight (Café Pacific Records, 2018)
Full Circle (Café Pacific Records, 2022)